QueenT and SlayerFae
by pottergrl15
Summary: What was Tess’ life like before Roswell, was Naesado with her at all times in all travels or did he leave her with some ‘friends’ of his? This is a story of when past and present collide.
1. Chapter 1

QueenT and SlayerFae

A.N. This will be a Roswell/Buffy crossover, written by a hard core Rebel, so be warned. Some things may be changed, like the Buffy/Spike relationship, Xander and Anya as well. I do not own Buffy or Roswell, otherwise Liz would be dead and Tess would be with Max.

Summary: What was Tess' life like before Roswell, was Naesado with her at all times in all travels or did he leave her with some 'friends' of his? This is a story of when past and present collide.

Chapter One

"Now remember class…" the teacher droned to his deaf key boarding class, "If you want to make a slide show you must first start with Power Point…"

The 8th period computers class ignored their boring teacher, already having mastered the use of the Internet, AIM, and Media players. It was Friday, so you really couldn't blame them for not paying attention.

"Hey Maxwell," Michael Guerin hissed turning to his friend, Max Evens, one seat over. "My computer froze again."

"Great," Max said, leaning over to Michael's computer. He stole a glance at Mr. Hoskins, who was facing the projector, before reaching over to the tower of the computer. A green glow emitted from his hand as the computer resumed function. "Try not to do that again."

"Right, thanks…you know Maxwell…" Michael started when a small giggle from behind them caught their attention.

Tess was chatting up the AIM, laughing at something. Max unconsciously clenched his fists thinking it was a guy. While Michael tried to see what she was talking about. Both were suspicious of the fourth alien despite the numerous times she had saved their hides. She was now intently reading something on the screen before leaning back excitedly, obviously happy about something. She raised her hand quickly, making them turn back to their own computers so as to not be seen spying.

"Mr. Hoskins, can I please be use the Ladies Room?" She asked politely.

Mr. Hoskins nodded as she rose and left the room, AIM still up. Michael turned in his seat squinting, trying to read the screen, but when that failed him he crept his way over to Tess' seat.

"Michael!" Max hissed, "What are you…"

But Michael just waved it off and read the convo.

**SlayerFae: _So then I F--king stabbed the B--h._**

**QueenT: _lol…dusted?_**

**SlayerFae:_ U no it!_**

**QueenT: _so, can u come visit?_**

**SlayerFae: _yup, B said she might come up too. That ok?_**

**QueenT: _duh! I can't wait…class is almost over, call u after school lets out?_**

**SlayerFae: _sure_**

**QueenT: _ttfn_**

**SlayerFae: _ttyl_**

_QueenT has signed off_  
_SlayerFae has signed off_

Michael snuck back to his seat just before Tess walked back into the room.

"Well?" Max asked.

"Tell you later." Was Michael's reply

Michael, Max, and his sister Isabel, were standing in the halls of Roswell High, acting perfectly natural, no one would have ever guessed that they were all in fact royalty from the planet Antar, the royal four. But right now they had more pressing matters to attend to.

"So who is this SlayerFae?" Isabel asked.

"We don't know, but Tess knows who it is." Michael replied.

"The message said that SlayerFae would be visiting sometime next week, right Michael?" He nodded, "And Tess said that she would call her today."

"So what are we going to do?" Isabel asked, "Listen to her phone call?" She laughed slightly, joking…but soon stopped when she saw the serious look that her brother and friend were making. "No seriously guys, we can't. We should respect her privacy, you shouldn't have read the message to begin with."

"Don't you want to know who this SlayerFae is?" Michael asked.

"Well, yes," she replied, "but I think that we should wait for her to introduce us first."

Just then Max caught a flash of blond curls turning the corner, "Come on," he said signaling for them to follow. He walked off, followed by Michael, and after a moment Isabel too.

"Maxwell, care to explain to me again, why we are hiding behind a tree?" Michael asked.

They had arrived in the Park after following Tess there; she was sitting on a bench getting out her cell. The three of them were hidden behind a rather large oak tree.

"We don't need Tess to see us, and this is just about the only place to hide where she won't."

Michael made an O with his mouth as Isabel spoke up, "Well, I think if we just asked her…"

Two Shhhhhs silenced her, when Tess got up, pacing, phone by ear.

"_Hello_?" A voice asked, the volume of the phone was turned up just enough that the aliens could hear it with their heightened hearing.

"Dawn?" Tess asked, "Hey it's Tess, Fae there?"

"_Oh, hey Tess, yeah she's here, hold on_…" There was a sound of someone being called and then a new voice picked up, "_Yeah_?"

Tess laughed slightly, "Hey SlayerFae."

"_Oh, Hey QueenT, how are you_?"

"I'm fine, you?"

"_Good_."

"How's everyone? Dawn ok?"

"_Yup_"

"Spike?"

"_Taking things slow with B, but their good_."

"That's good, Giles?"

"_Still the book master_."

"Willow?"

"_Well, she's still upset about Tara, but she isn't trying to destroy the world, so I guess you could say she's good_."

"How the Xan-Man and Anya?"

"_Their good, they finally got hitched and are expecting!_" The voice, assumed to be SlayerFae's, squealed slightly.

"OMG! I can't believe it…I mean I still can't believe that Ahn took him back after leaving her at the alter."

"_Yeah well, she did…oh, speaking of Xans, how's your Xan_?"

"Max is fine, still ignoring me."

"_Yeah, well, he's a jerk, you're too good for him anyway, Wrath_?"

"Michael's fine," Tess laughed, "Still with Maria."

"_Vilondra_?"

"Well, she's not betraying us so I guess she's good," Tess said imitating what 'SlayerFae' had said about the girl Willow.

The voice on the phone laughed, "_Oh, hey I gotta jet, wanna make it there by Sunday, you know_."

"Yeah, see ya."

Tess flipped down her cell phone, grabbed her backpack, and headed out of the park grinning ear to ear.

The three aliens emerged from behind the tree, more questions now than they had, and one thought in mind, the person Tess was talking to knew about Xan, Wrath, and Vilondra…so what else did she know?


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

Monday finally rolled around…a very tense Monday for three teenagers attending Roswell High. Max, Isabel, and Michael, were on pins and needles all weekend trying to crack the mystery of who SlayerFae was, but with no luck. So they decided to go to school and wait for Tess to hopefully introduce them to her, much to Isabel's delight.

It was around 5th period, one of the two lunch periods, and most students were either in Lunch or in Class, but two students were wandering the halls. Liz Parker, apparent soul mate of Max Evans, and her friend Maria DeLuca, girl friend of Michael Guerin. They were heading over to Maria's locker, she had forgotten her geometry book, when they noticed something most out of place.

A girl was walking down the hall, confidence and attitude in every stride she took. Liz and Maria just stared, at her get up. She was wearing a red tank top that cut off at her stomach, showing off how toned it was, with a dark blue jean jacket over it, matching her dark blue jeans and black combat boots. Her dark brown hair was held half up half down with a red clip.

Liz tugged Maria over, Maria was hesitant, but Liz was quite persistent. "Come on," she whispered, "Meet and greet."

"Hi," Liz said pushing her way into the girls' path, "I'm Liz Parker and this is Maria Deluca, you must be new here, would you like us to show you around?"

Liz held out her hand for the girl to take but she just stared at it and gave a look that clearly said 'yeah right', so Liz put her hand down. Just then something appeared to have occurred to the girl.

"Wait, are you, _the_ Liz Parker and Maria DeLuca? The girl friends of Max Evans and Michael Guerin?" She asked, all excited and impressed.

"Yes, we are," Maria said falling for her fake excitement.

Her smile dropped into a scowl, "Thanks but no thanks." She pushed in between them and continued walking.

"Jeez, what a bitch." Maria muttered to Liz, staring after the girl.

She stopped walking upon hearing what was said about her, she turned and stalked towards them. They backed up slightly, she had almost reached them when…

"Faith?" a voice said from behind her.

'Faith' turned, a smile of recognition on her face, "Tess?"

"I missed you so much Fae Fae," Tess said walking over to give Faith a sisterly hug.

"Oh, I missed you too Tessie," she said, returning the hug.

Liz and Maria just stared on in wonder at how the Blond haired, blue eyed, light colored girl knew the brown haired, brown eyed, dark colored one.

Tess broke the hug first, "Did you bring it?"

"You know it," Faith replied leading Tess down the hall to the exit, "Oh and I took care of the principal, he thinks there's a family issue or something."

"Awesome," Tess said as they exited the building, heading over to a motorcycle. Tess grabbed a dark blue helmet, and sat on first with Faith grabbing a red one, sitting behind her…and they took off.

Liz and Maria just stared in confusion for a good 5 minutes before rushing off to find Max, Michael, and Isabel.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

"I still don't see why I had to get dressed up!" Michael complained quietly as he squirmed in his seat at the table that his friends were now gathered around. Max was sitting next to Liz, who was next to Maria, who latched on to Michael, who sat near Isabel, there were two empty chairs, followed by Kyle, Jim, and then Alex. Their table was in a private party room with it's very own bathroom along the wall, which Tess was currently occupying as they waited for one other person to appear.

"Michael!" Maria scolded, "This is nice restaurant, I will not allow any boyfriend of mine to walk in with jeans and a sweat shirt!" She looked at all the other males who were currently in dress shirt and pants, as well as the girls who were in nice dresses.

"Well, I didn't want to come in the first place!"

"Michael you had to come, Tess is going to show us who this Faith girl is…she might be SlayerFae." Max said in his broodingly quiet, yet commanding way.

"Well, she never said it was her friend Faith," Isabel said from across the table. "When Tess called, all she said was she wanted me to get you all here so she could introduce us to someone."

"Well, given that Faith is the only new person around, it is very likely that it is her that Tess wants to introduce." Liz added taking Max's hand.

Isabel rolled her eyes at the sickening display of affection, as she shook her head slightly, she noticed that Michael had a similar face to the couple's motion. They caught each other's eye, holding the gaze for a moment before looking away, a small smile on their faces… But the moment was ruined when the door to the room was violently pushed open.

Liz and Maria immediately recognized the girl who entered as the one from the hall. Her outfit had changed into a black tank toped dress, with a V-neck, allowing everyone to see her muscles and tattoo.

Kyle choked on the water he was drinking when he got a good look at who had entered the room. "Faith?" he asked.

Faith looked suspiciously at him before answering with a question of her own, "Kyle?" he nodded, "Tess here?"

"Y-Yeah," he replied, then after a pause, "She's in the bathroom." She nodded slightly as he looked away, "_Smooth Kyle"_ he thought to himself, "_…really smooth_."

The doorknob to the bathroom started to turn as a sly smile graced Faith's face, not unnoticed by the group at the circular table.

As the door opened, and Tess stepped through, out of nowhere Faith threw a knife at her friend. Cries of warning were about to break out too late, when Tess caught the knife by the handle, right in front of her face and launched it back at Faith.

Faith caught the knife with ease, though a little stunned, "Jesus Christ Tess!" she exclaimed, "Since when did you start throwing knives back at people? You were always going on about how I'd almost kill you every time I'd throw one at you!"

Tess looked away sheepishly before replying, "Sorry, Naesado wanted me to do more than defensive tactics."

Faith just smiled at this, returning the knife back to it's hiding place without any one noticing, "That's my girl, I have taught you well."

To this Tess just laughed, drawing in the attention of a certain dark haired king in the process. She soon noticed the odd looks that she was receiving from those around her and blushed as her gaze connected with a certain boy's. "Hey guys," she said, leading Faith over to the group, "This is my best friend, Faith."

"I'm your best friend?" Faith asked, faking wonder, "Man you really were telling the truth when you said no one lik…"

"Shut it you," Tess said cutting her off with laughter in her tone.

"Just kidding Tessie, you always were an easy mark," Faith said as she looked at the group, her gaze landed on Jim, "You Sheriff Valenti?" he nodded as Faith approached him, holding out her hand to shake his, "Thanks for taking care of Tess, it means a lot to us back in Sunnydale, to know _someone_ is looking out for her." At this the three aliens looked away.

"It's my pleasure, Tess is like family to us." Jim replied shaking the extended hand.

"I hope she's not too much of a hand full, she was always getting into trouble when she was a Scoobie…"

To this, Tess playfully smacked Faith's arm, "I was not _always_ getting into trouble…" Faith just gave her a look, "Ok, so there was that one time…but as I recall it, it was I who was always saving you from trouble…" She threw Faith a look that ended in the both of them laughing.

Jim joined in as well, "No trouble at all."

"…Scoobie?" A quiet voice, AKA Alex, asked after a while.

"Just the name for a group of friends we had back in Sunnydale." Faith answered nonchalantly, sitting down in the empty chair, next to Kyle, "Long time no see Kyle."

He chuckled a little, "Yeah…" he turned to Tess, "Why didn't you tell me Faith was here?"

"You know her?" Max asked a little taken aback that Kyle knew of this Faith person.

"Yeah," Faith answered leaning back in her chair, "Tessie here took him up to visit me and the gang over spring break."

Tess sat down, "Yeah…good times…"

"Good times?" Kyle asked, "Good times! Do I have to remind you what happened when we visited that god forsaken place?"

"No," Tess replied, reaching for a roll, "Nothing happened, and besides Faith had your back."

"…God forsaken place," Faith muttered to herself, "Yup that's home…"

And with that a very tense dinner started, as more questions arose with in the minds of the aliens about the new comer as well as how much they actually knew about Tess' past.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

A/N: Yes, I know that Faith showed up in Sunnydale when she was 15 and not before that, but in my story she lived in Sunnydale with a foster mother, and grew up with the Scoobies and Buffy.

"So…Faith," Max started, "How long have you known Tess?"

"About 10 years," She replied, taking another bite of dessert, "Naesado brought her to Sunnydale for protection as well as training when he went to look for you three." She looked from Max, to Michael, to Isabel as she said it, making them all the more uncomfortable.

"So you know about…about us?" Isabel asked.

Faith nodded as Michael leaned forward in his seat, "How much?" He asked taking on his protector tone.

"Everything," she said as if it were nothing, "Naesado wanted me and the Scoobs to be prepared for any one that might have come for Tess. I know all about Antar, about your past lives, your past history…past loves," she said looking pointedly at Max. She was still pretty pissed at him for what he was doing to Tess, but, as she had promised to her friend, she would not hurt him…much. "I know about your deaths, and any other thing that happened on Antar, courtesy of Tess." She nodded to the corner of the room where Tess was in a conversation with Jim.

"But Tess doesn't remember that much about Antar," Liz butted in, "She couldn't have told you EVERYTHING…"

Faith's stone cold gaze drifted to Liz, the prissy earth girl who didn't know shit about what she was talking about or what her affair with Max was doing to Tess. "She remembers more than you could ever know."

Just then Tess came back to the table, "Hey, Jim said you could stay with us…under one condition…" She leaned in and whispered something to Faith who readily agreed. "Thanks, you have know idea how rusty I am…"

"Oh, I have a pretty good idea," Faith said jokingly, "After all, you were a little shaky with the knife, so I can only imagine how badly you let yourself go with the…"

"Shut it," Tess said again, smacking Faith's arm. She reached over and grabbed her coat, motioning for Faith to do the same. Soon everyone had interpreting this as the night being over, time to leave…which it was.

The group started to head for the exit, Tess and Faith taking the lead, many of the group following behind confusedly.

Everyone follow Tess and Faith out of the building carrying on their own conversations. Liz was walking with Maria, who was dragging along Michael.

"So…what do you think of Faith knowing all about you guys?" Liz asked Michael.

He merely shrugged, Maria huffed, "I don't think it is such a good idea that she knows also."

Michael shrugged again, "I think that there are already too many people who know about you guys…"

"And whose fault would that be?" Michael asked looking pointedly at Liz.

"What…I…Don't you dare go saying that about Liz, she didn't do anything wrong!" Maria said in a disbelieving tone.

"Oh yes," Michael said sarcastically, "Telling everyone our secret after she was told not to is certainly doing nothing wrong! And afterall, Tess deserves to have someone she can talk to besides Kyle who really doesn't know all that much."

"Are you saying that you'd rather I didn't know about you?" Maria asked getting all worked up.

"At this point, YES!" Michael answered as he fell behind the girls meeting up with Isabel, feeling no remorse for what he had just said. He was sick of their secret being in danger everyday due to the sheer number of people who knew about them, all thanks to Max, the great leader.

"Can you believe Max?" They both asked at the same time. They looked at each other, and looked away laughing…

-

"This will be a great opportunity for you guys don't you think?" Alex asked Isabel, mid ramble of what he had concluded about Antar and the aliens' history. "I mean, if Tess remembers as much as Faith says she does, and Faith knows the same amount, than you all could talk to Faith, since Tess isn't talking, and actually find out what happened to you guys back then…"

"We know what happened," Isabel said icily, "Max loved Tess, he married her, she died to protect him because I betrayed them to our enemy…Michael…he died protecting me from Kivar…he…I…" tears started welling up in her eyes. "Tess is my friend, and I let her alone because Max didn't trust her. She has done nothing but try to help and protect us all and no one accepts her…"

"Okay…" Alex said completely getting lost in what Isabel was trying to convey to him.

"She doesn't deserve that, can you believe Max?" she asked, venom in her voice. "He loved her, she dies for him, and nowhe treats her like shit, at least have a little more respect for her…"

She saw Michael drop back behind Liz and Maria and sped up to meet him, leaving Alex alone and confused.

"Can you believe Max?"

-

"Hey you didn't seem all that shocked when Tess threw the knife..." Max said stepping up beside Kyle as he walked with his dad.

"I guess not," he said, leaving it at that, hoping that Max would walk away, but when he didn't he elaborated, "She did something like it during spring break."

Max just made an O shape and continued to keep up the pace with the Valenti men. "So who is Faith, exactly?"

Kyle sighed, "No one you should be worried about" was his curt reply.

Max just continued to walk in silence next to Kyle behind the Tess and Faith. Kyle who was still fuming at what Max was putting Tess, his sister-I-never-had, through, kept silent also attempting not to hurt Max like he had promised Tess.

-

Faith and Tess continued to walk a head of the group, carrying on a low conversation. "So, Buffy said she'd come visit?"

"Yup, and you know B, she says it, she'll do it."

"I can't wait," Tess said getting excited, "Do you know what this means?"

Faith took a moment to think, "We have to see all the spuffy action?" Tess just looked at her confused, "_Oh that's right she hasn't exactly seen them together yet_…" "Trust me Tess, it is really sweet...in a kind of creepy love/hate way. They'll be all over each other." She shuddered.

Tess shook her head at her friends antics, "No…remember what follows the Slayers?"

"…Demons?"

"Yeah, and Vampires, Oh God, I haven't staked a decent vamp in so long…"

Just as she said this a pale arm reached out from the alley way and grabbed Tess' shoulder. She immediately went on the defensive, flipping the owner of the arm over her shoulder.

The bleach haired man, landed on the ground with an oomph, letting off a stream of curses in his British accent in the process. When Tess finally got a look at whom she had flipped she immediately knelt down to help him up. "OMG! Spike I am so sorry! I didn't know it was you!"

"Bloody good welcoming that was," He muttered sarcastically, "Look, now me duster's all dirty," He said brushing off the invisible dirt, opening his arms to Tess, who jumped in it and gave him a brotherly hug. A throat cleared behind her as she turned to face two jealous faces, she blushed.

"Sorry, this is Spike, he was like a brother to me in Sunnydale."

"Thanks Nibblet," He replied in his usual sarcastic way, "who would ever want to be your brother?"

That just earned him a jab in the ribs, by a pointy elbow, "Hardy Har, Hardy Har…" Tess said.

"So…where's B? She coming?" Faith asked.

"She's here," a voice replied from the alley, as a blond woman in a white sweater and black pants stepped out of the darkness. "And Tess, excellent form on the flip, I couldn't have done it better myself."

"Yes you could have," Tess replied, giving her a friendly hug

"Hey B," Faith said.

Tess turned to her new friends, "Guys this is Buffy Summers."


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Four

_Tess turned to her new friends, "Guys this is Buffy Summers."_

"Hey," Buffy said waving slightly to the group. Spike had walked over to her, wrapping his arms around her from the back.

Faith made a gagging face at Tess who merely rolled her eyes. It was cute.

"So B, you're early." Faith mentioned to her friend. "I wasn't expecting you for another day or two."

"Yeah well, Spike here wanted to come early to make sure that it wasn't like last time."

"Hey, I can't help it if I'm overprotective," Spike muttered making Buffy smile.

There was a pause, "If what was like last time?" Liz asked, naturally curious.

Buffy sighed, "Well, you see, the last time that Nasaedo took Tess to live somewhere besides Sunnydale, long term, she sent us all these letters saying that she was fine. That she was joining clubs, making friends, trying out for teams, and fitting in…"

"Only, she wasn't," Spike added, "Were you?" He looked at Tess, who glanced away as though a child being scolded.

Buffy shook her head at her beau's reaction, turning to look back at the group, "Anyway, we went to visit her…and it was nothing like her letters. Everyone in school shunned her, and were just really cruel to her. Especially that one group who just wanted to make her life a living hell, I mean it took a lot out of us just to keep Spike from going vamp on their as…"

A loud, rough cough from Faith, as well as many cut throat motions and nods towards the group cut Buffy off.

"Well…" Buffy said, recovering from her slip, "We just wanted to make sure that Tess was being honest this time."

But unfortunately her recovery wasn't that smooth, "What's Vamp?" Alex asked this time.

Buffy, Faith and Spike just looked at each other when Tess covered, "You know, vamp, turn on, to entice them. Basically he tried to fool them into thinking he was my boy friend, and get them all interested in me…it didn't work obviously. I mean, I know that I'm not that most beautiful rose in the bouquet."

Kyle and Jim jumped on this, spouting about how Tess was very beautiful. Max however stood there, mouth open in disbelief…Tess thought she was ugly!

"So…" Tess' voice cut in, "Faith, can you introduce Spike to these guys while I talk to B for a minute?" Faith nodded as Tess dragged Buffy off to the side.

"So what did you want to talk about?" Buffy said, almost knowing what Tess wanted to talk about.

"Well…you know how you and Fae are slayers…and how demons and vamps follow you…" At Buffy's nod, she continued, "Well, I was just wondering if maybe one or two may have…what I mean to say is if…"

"If we brought you anything to brush the dust off of Mr. Pointy Jr.?" Buffy finished. Tess nodded, "Of course we did, can't let you get rusty can we?"

Tess jumped up in place, knocking the wind out of the slayer as she hugged her, "Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!"

As soon as she regained her breathe, Buffy spoke, "I must say Tess, I haven't seen you this excited about patrolling since…ever…"

"I know," Tess said, leading Buffy back to the group, "But I haven't staked a decent vamp in…forever…"

"True, the best ones are in Sunnydale…"

"So…" Tess said, stepping back up to the group, "I guess we should all be heading home now."

"Yeah," Faith added, "It is pretty late…getting dark…" She added when no one moved.

Tess elbowed Kyle, who gave a small 'ow' when Tess threw a meaningful glare at him. A second later he got the picture. "Oh…oh yeah, it is getting late," He yawned to emphasize this, "Best be hitting the sack… Come on dad…" He said dragging the serif off.

Maria scoffed at this, locking arms with Michael before trying to drag him off…he didn't budge. Instead he stepped closer to Isabel. Maria glared at him before turning to Liz and Alex. "Come on guys." She didn't give them a chance to speak as she dragged them off.

Liz called to Max over her shoulder, but Max was staring intently at Tess…something was going on…

"So…" Tess said once it was just the gang and the pod squad, "I'm just gonna go catch up on stuff, see you later."

Then she turned on her heels and walked off leaving the squad in the dust.

"What now Maxwell?" Michael asked.

"Something is going on with them." He muttered, "And I'm going to find out what…"

He headed off, keeping a good distance behind the group.

Michael sighed to himself, before turning to Isabel, extending a hand to her, "Shall we?"

Isabel took his hand, pushing the tingly feelings down, and heading off with Michael. "I think maybe we should wait till Tess is ready to tell us what's going on…Max? Max!"

I

I

I

"Oh my God," Tess said, Pulling her Sleeveless blue knee length dress over her shoulder to reveal a blue spaghetti strap shirt with black knee length stretchy pants. "I can not wait," She kicked off her heels, pulling out black converse from her purse. She looked up at the incredulous looks that Spike and Buffy were giving her, "What?"

"Preparing for this Tess?" Buffy asked as Spike laughed.

"Never hurts to be prepared B," Faith said stepping up, wearing pretty much the same thing as Tess but with a red top. She was holding her black dress crumpled in her hand. "Catch," She said tossing the heap to Buffy. She reached up to put her hair in a ponytail, at just about the same time that Tess put her hair in a bun.

They looked at each other, "Great minds think alike," They said laughing.

"Man, you two have been spending way too much time together," Spike said, shaking his head at them.

Tess was about to open her mouth to retort when Faith and Buffy tensed. Tess looked at the ground concentrating on listening to and sounds that may indicate a threat coming nearer. There were five sets of footsteps coming closer to them. Buffy looked at Spike, giving him a quick nod.

He nodded in return before jumping up on top of a mausoleum to watch. He was not on good terms with the vampire community, and sigh Buffy thought that it would be best if he sit out the next few fights until things cooled down. He was only allowed to get involved if things got too heavy. (makes whipping noise)

Tess listened more carefully, smirked, and picked up her Mr. Pointy Jr. They waited for the vamps to show, but didn't have to wait long…

I

I

I

Max, Isabel, and Michael snuck up among the trees, crouching low so as to not be seen by the three women.

"What are they doing?" Michael asked. So far it just seemed like the girls were just standing there.

"I don't know…" Max replied, eyes on Tess. She was smirking, holding something in her hand, body tense as if waiting for something.

After a moment more, Isabel spoke, "Who are they?"

Five mysterious men had just walked into the little clearing in the cemetery.

I

I

I

"Well look who finally decided to join the party," Faith said, taking a step towards the men, "You weren't going to leave us waiting were you?" She asked, pouting.

The men nodded to each other, "Bet we look good enough to eat," Buffy taunted.

The men nodded again, "Well," Tess added, "Too bad…" Then in a move that the pod squad almost missed, Tess threw the stake right at the center man, hitting him right in the heart.

Michael quickly put a hand over Isabel's mouth to muffle the scream. She didn't know what terrified her more, the fact that Tess killed someone, or the fact that the men now had hideously demonic faces.

The four remaining men attacked, one after Faith, one for Buffy, and, to Tess' delight, two for her.

They fought like nothing the pod squad had ever seen. Buffy and Faith seemed to have more strength than Tess, but Tess seemed to have a natural agility and gracefulness about her that had Max entranced.

Buffy and Faith had both finished off their monsters, and Tess had finished off one of hers.

The monster had Tess in a hold, her back pressed against his front. He opened his mouth, elongated fangs about to dig into her neck. Faith and Buffy stepped up to help, when Tess suddenly did a high kick, hitting the monster right in the face by her shoulder. She spun around quickly, hair flying out of her bun, to plunge the stake into his heart. Dust erupted where the man had once been, not a trace of him left.

Tess stood erect eyeing the trees, slightly pale, and glanced back at her friends curious looks before retuning her attention to the bunch of greenery before her. Spike jumped down from the mausoleum, stepping next to his girl.

"You guys can come out now," she shouted to no one in particular, "I know you're there."

"Who are…" Buffy started when Max and Michael stepped out from behind the trees, a shocked Isabel held safely in Michael's arms.

There was silence…

"…shit," Faith said.

A/N – Why was Isabel so keen to wait? Did she know something? How will the pod squad react to the new Tess?


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

Tess scoffed at the three, shaking her head. "Thanks a lot for spying on me guys, my trust in you is completely shot."

Michael seemed to be the first to react, "What the hell was that?" he asked.

Tess laughed, "Maybe you didn't hear me say 'my trust in you is shot?'" She sat down, hand clutching her side. She bit her lip; the blood hadn't stopped. She cursed herself for not noticing the knife that the vamp had _before_ it was embedded in her side. She glanced at Buffy, Spike, and Faith, they didn't seem to notice, it was too dark.

"Tell us." Max said, in a regal tone, drawing Tess' gaze back.

"What makes you think I'd tell you after all the shit…"

"I am the King. I can order you to tell me…"

Tess stood slowly, cutting off his sentence, "You do that and I will hate you forever…"

Max felt the breath leave him. He didn't know why, what Tess said had hit him hard. He couldn't speak.

Tess smiled sadly seeing the impact of her words. It was different this time, more…

She had to sit down…standing may not have been the best idea in the world. She felt dizzy. She lowered herself onto the tombstone, slowly so as not to draw anyone's attention. She sighed, hand loosing the grip on her side. She could feel her strength leave her…it was too dark to see just how pale she had become.

Then again, sitting down opened the wound worse. It was bleeding profusely. She started breathing deeply and quicker than she had been, trying to stay quiet.

She stood again, moving away from the group trying to leave as quickly as possible. Suddenly a green shield appeared before her. Her reactions were slowing and she fell backwards, moving into a backwards roll to avoid injury. She stood, it was all she could do not to scream and grab her side.

"We're not done here yet." Michael said as max held the shield up.

"Oh, I think we are." Faith said stepping up to pick up her stake.

Spike stepped forward just then, looking around oddly.

"What is it?" Buffy asked, "More vamps?"

Spike shook his head, sniffing the air, "No, it's blood…not slayer…not…" he sniffed, "human…" His gaze drifted over to Tess. "Tess…"

"What?" she asked, she didn't want them to see her injured; she didn't want them to worry. She sighed, "I'm fine…see…" She said before doing two back handsprings, landing in a piked salto. She stumbled, hands gripping her side.

"Tess!" she heard Faith call. She looked up in time to see Buffy, Spike, and Faith run towards her before she blacked out.

"Tess!" Faith called, cradling her limp friend in her arms. Buffy sunk down onto her knees searching her friend for injuries. She immediately found the stab wound. Spike knelt down, holding the bloodied knife.

"Tessie, I swear to God you better not die or I'll hunt your ass down and bring you back so I can kill you myself!" Faith said.

Spike glanced over at the gang in time to see Max's shocked expression fade as he ran over to Tess.

"I can heal her," he said bending over to reach for the wound. He closed his eyes in concentration, his hand just starting to glow when he was thrown back by a bright white light. He flew back, hitting a tombstone and breaking it in half.

Michael and Isabel ran over to Max asking him if he was alright. He ignored them, eyes focused solely on Tess. He had a flash when he had tried to heal her. It was a quick one, he wasn't even sure if it was real.

There was a blinding light and he saw Tess…only she was different. She was wearing a long simple blue gown, standing on a balcony looking out towards what Max realized was Demerias Rock. He saw her back to him and moved closer to her…till he walked into an invisible wall. Tess turned looking at him sadly. "I don't want you to heal me Max," she said as he opened his mouth to question her. "I've done everything for you and you've done nothing for me…so why start now?" She took a deep breath, tears in her eyes, "You don't care…"

The next thing he knew, he was hitting the tombstone. The group's attention was now focused on Faith as she picked Tess up, Buffy muttering something about a tree, before taking off.

Spike stood there a moment longer, "Well, come on…" No one moved, "Bloody Hell! You're all just going to sit there and let her die? Come on!"

He started to walk off as the Pod Squad stood. "He's right," was all Isabel said as she moved to follow.

Max took one step before a searing pain in his head made him stop. He grabbed his head in pain as an onslaught of random images, sounds, and sensations assaulted him. He knew they were bits and pieces of his life on Antar…he had felt the familiar pull at his soul with them just as when he looked at Tess.

Max felt a hand on his shoulder as the visions faded; it was Michael. "You ok?"

Max nodded, "Let's go."

I

I

I

The Pod Squad had followed Spike quickly as he made his way through the deserted streets of Roswell, till they reached the doors of a small hotel. Spike waited at the door, holding it open impatiently for the group to walk in. Once they were inside, he led them up the elevator, past the people who were still started to have seen two girls run by with a third girl in their arms.

They got off at the third floor and Spike led them down the zigzagging halls to room 318. He knocked franticly on the door waiting only a moment before Buffy opened it, letting them all inside.

Max looked up to see Faith quickly explaining what had happened to a short timid looking woman with short red hair. They had laid Tess down on the only couch in the room, as the red head kneeled down next to her. What they say next shocked them…

Despite the fact that they were aliens and had seen all sorts of crazy things in just the last few hours, they had never expected a bright red glow to emanate from the red head's hands, healing the majority of the wound right before their eyes. The only thought running through their minds as the red head stood was, "Is she an alien too?"

She startled the group by looking right at them and shaking her head 'no'.

Faith and Buffy moved past the red head to kneel by Tess as the red head walked over to them. "Hi," she said, "I'm Willow, one of Tess' friends from Sunnydale."

"Are you a Scoppy?" Michael asked, eye brow quirked.

"Scooby," she corrected, "And yes I am." Just then the group went flying back, hitting the wall behind them. "What the fuck do you think you guys are doing to Tess?" She asked, face flushing in anger. Willow normally didn't get angry very quickly, but these three…Tess had been one of her best friends and these three were making her life a living hell. "You three don't know how lucky you are that Tess is such good friends with all of us back in Sunnydale."

"Why?" Michael asked, standing in front of Isabel to shield her from any more random blows as he helped her stand.

"Because, for some reason unknown to me, Tess cares a lot about you three. She made us all promise not to hurt you. If it wasn't for her, you would be severely injured or possibly dead knowing Faith."

"But you…" Michael started.

"I wasn't there when she made us promise not to hurt you. I'm exempt." She said, creating a fireball in her hand.

"Willow don't…" she heard a voice say behind her. Tess was coming around, and awaiting her safety lecture from Faith and Buffy.

Willow took a deep breath, extinguishing the flaming ball of death, before heading out into the hallway to cool down.

"What do you want?" she asked, not bothering to turn to the person who followed her.

"You healed her." Max said simply, still confused as to why he couldn't.

"Yes, and your point?"

"I tried to but I…I…"

"You couldn't," She said simply again, "Tess wouldn't let you."

Max nodded, "Why were you able to when I couldn't?"

"Well, she trusts me," She said, turning away from him.

"She doesn't trust me?" he asked, seeing Willow shake her head 'yes', "Why?"

"Can you really blame her?" Willow countered, turning to face him. "She comes here, hoping that you all remember her. You don't. So she tries to fit in, you shun her. She tries to move on, and you constantly flaunt Liz in front of her! She doesn't need that! She doesn't deserve that! She hasn't done anything to merit that kind of mistreatment."

She shook her head in disgust going back in to check on her friend, leaving Max to sort out his thoughts.

A/N – So sorry for not updating sooner. I had so much to do, and two really good ideas for two stories that I had to write before I forgot. But I will try to update more. I think I have about five more chapters left…maybe?


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

It had taken Tess a couple of days to recover completely from the wound. But it gave her two days to catch up with her odd group of friends. The pod squad hadn't seen her in two days, until the start of school on Monday, but they had an even harder time getting to Tess to apologize. Faith may have promised not to hurt them, but they didn't want to chance anything. Tess had gotten the school to allow Faith to sit in on Tess' classes until the break in a few days. Winter break started on Wednesday so there wasn't that big an issue of Faith tagging along.

There was even less a chance of finding Tess after school, her and Faith had disappeared leaving the Squad to wonder where to. Though they did get a hint when they overheard Kyle complimenting Tess and Faith about how well their act was coming. It had to mean one thing; Tess and Faith were planning to compete in the town's Winter Talent Competition. It was something Isabel had organized to relieve the stress that came with being the Christmas Nazi. She found organizing everything was too much, so she created the talent competition to try and lift spirits before the holidays.

And that was how it came to be that the Pod Squad and their human counterparts found themselves out side the town square waiting for the Competition to start. The determination of the winner was found sort of like the T.V. competitions. There were five judges who rated the acts, then they narrowed it down to three finalists who performed again, then chose a winner from that who had the choice to perform one last time, which meant that each act had to have at least two more parts to it.

So they watched as the announcer came on the makeshift stage announcing the first ones to go…

I

I

Meanwhile back stage Tess and Faith were sitting on two of the numerous chairs, waiting for their act to be called, just talking. They had just started to reminisce about the first times they met Angel and his gang when three girls in army clothes came up to them.

"Hey, um…Tess, right?" One of them asked. Tess nodded. "Do you play…" she trailed nodding to the small black case by Tess' chair. She nodded again. "We need your help…"

I

I

Max rubbed his hands together, it may not snow in Roswell, but it did get pretty chilly out. He had been standing there for a half hour now and there was no sign of Tess or Faith. He was currently watching three Underclassmen girls singing and dancing to Survivor by Destiny's Child wearing Army clothes. He had to admit, they were pretty good, they had a recording of a violin playing the tune from the C.D. off stage.

According to Isabel, who managed to sneak a program out from the inner workings of the competition (they liked to leave people guessing as to who would be next), Tess and Faith were up next. They still had no idea what they were going to do; Kyle and Jim refused to tell. After all, with both Tess and Faith staying with them for the moment, how would they not know what they were doing?

So the lights dimmed and the girls ran off once their act was over. Max found himself waiting with betted breath as the lights came back on. Then he heard it, a violin was coming from the left of the stage as Faith walked on to that corner of the stage followed by a second violin on the right where Tess came in. Max stared at the blonde on stage; she was beautiful in a beautiful light blue blouse and shimmery black skirt where as Faith wore a simple red button up shirt and black pants.

He thought that they were simply going to play a classical duet…but then the tempo picked up and he could see their fingers flying across the violins. About half way through the crowd started to clap along with them, making the Irish style that much more obvious.

They finished up with an impossibly fast ending, both bowing to the crowd, high fiving each other and walking off laughing and smiling. There was really no doubt in anyone's mind that they would be one of the finalists, so it really wasn't a shock when they were. The final three boiled down to Tess and Faith on violin, the three army girls, and two boys doing a mock combat thing from random movies.

Tess and Faith were the last ones to go, the crowd figured they must have been saving the best for last. They were amazing; they played facing each other as well as with their eyes closed later on, something that no one in the audience could even imagine being able to do. There was an especially complicated sounding tune played in the middle of the song, one that Tess played…after switching hands between the violin and the bow.

And so, after a few minutes of consulting, the judges called the three groups back on to announce that…

Tess and Faith, Irish Fury, as they had dubbed their act, had won!

Now it was time to see just what they had planned for their last act. They disappeared off stage for a minute before dragging a keyboard on stage along with a…tambourine?

The crowd was confused to say the least, especially when Tess played a few cords to test it out and Techno sounding pings resounded. The crowd grew apprehensive. There had been an act in the beginning that tried to mix a classical string quartet of a violin, cello, harp, and viola; with Techno remixes…it was horrible.

But Tess and Faith obviously knew what they were doing. They started off on violins with Faith moving onto to Tambourine while Tess played a solo. She jazzed it up; dancing with the tambourine while Tess put the Violin aside and moved onto the keyboard. The tambourine and the techno worked surprisingly well together.

It was over too soon, but before Max knew it Tess was right beside the group receiving a hug from Kyle. Max's fists, unconsciously, curled into fists at his side at the display of affection.

"Wow that was amazing!" Kyle exclaimed while hugging his sort of sister.

"Thanks K-Man," Faith said walking over to them holding the trophy, "Tessie here really surprised me. I thought she'd be horrible after moving here. But I think she improved."

"It's not a thought, it's a fact," a deep voice said from behind her. Faith and Tess turned at the same time, smiles growing on their faces.

As soon as they saw who was behind them, Tess let out a squeal before launching herself at the tall broodish man behind her. "ANGEL!" She yelled as he returned the hug.

"Hey, hey, hey, I do believe that's my man," said a soft feminine voice coming up from the side of him.

"Hey, Cordy," Faith said, hugging her a little, "Long time no see, how's LA?"

"Cordy!" Tess shouted as soon as she saw the older woman.

The Roswell gang just stared at each other, wondering just who _these_ people were.

After laughing with this Cordy person, Tess turned to the group, "Guys, this is Angel and Cordelia, his girlfriend…"

A clearing of the throat drew Tess' attention to the couple beside her. Cordy brushed some hair from her face with her left hand, flashing Tess the sight of something sparkly on her finger. She looked up at Cordy questioningly, Cordy just nodded a response.

"I…I mean…fiancé?" she asked, Cordy nodded again, squealing as Tess hugged her once again.

She soon left, dragging Cordy and Angel off with her. Faith laughed at Tess' reaction. She knew all about Angel and Cordy, he had come to Sunnydale to talk to Buffy about it. He wanted to make absolutely sure that she'd be alright with it. It was really a coincidence; Buffy had wanted to go to LA to make sure that her relationship with Spike would be alright with him.

"I…I didn't know…" a voice trailed, drawing Faith's attention to Isabel, "that Tess played the Violin."

"Well, _you_ wouldn't, would you?" Faith replied. She looked at Isabel, according to Tess; she had been one of the first friends she made here. It did seem like Isabel truly did want to be friends with Tess, like she was truly sorry that she had done as Max said and stayed away. She sighed, knowing that she'd regret it later. "Nasaedo took Tess to Ireland once…something about odd occurrences there…" She took a breath, "Anyway, there was a festival going on in the town and Tess saw people doing Step dancing and playing traditional tunes on the fiddle, violin, whatever. Tess absolutely loved it and decided to learn Violin and play some tunes for us."

"So…why'd you learn to play?" Kyle asked, "You never did strike me as the fiddling type."

Faith laughed along with him at that, "No I'm not, not normally anyway. But school is a bitch. My guidance councilor decided that I needed an extracurricular activity; she suggested that I learn an instrument. I figured that since Tess already knew how to play the Violin, so I asked her. My mom offered to pay her, but…" she laughed in remembering, "Tess said that as long as I agreed to learn some Irish songs, she'd do it for free. And here I am, playing Irish music on a Violin."

"Well, you girls sounded great." Jim said, patting Faith on the shoulder gently. He had learned not to sneak up on this particular young woman. She was listening to some music when she had been making dinner the other day, he had put his hand on her shoulder…and like Tess had done to that blonde man…she flipped him over her shoulder.

"Yes you did," said Buffy walking up to her.

"Yup, who knew that Irish music could be so entertaining," Spike agreed placing an arm around Buffy's waist.

There was a lag in the conversation, letting the group fall into an awkward silence. One that was thankfully broken by Kyle, "So Faith," he started, "Was that Tess just before you went on?" He asked, he had noticed that when the army girls went on the Violin sounded to real to be a recording.

Faith nodded, "Yup that was Tess, they needed someone to play the basic tune since their recording was lost. Good thing Tess listened to Destiny's Child." She turned to Isabel, sensing that she might be interested in what she had to say, "Tess can play all kinds of music on the violin, Classical, Irish, even Western." She started laughing at Jim's interested expression. She could tell by his record collection that he was a fan of the western persuasion.

Faith was about to go on to describe other instruments that Tess could play, but Tess had started heading back over with Angel and Cordy in tow.

"I can't believe you didn't tell me!" she exclaimed hitting Faith on the arm playfully.

"They made me promise," Faith shrugged.

Tess laughed at her before turning to pull Buffy off to the side. "Don't forget," she said, hoping that no one else was listening, "8:00 on Friday."

"Tess, I got it," Buffy assured her, "We'll be there."

Tess smiled before turning to go walk away with Faith, Jim, and Kyle leaving Buffy and the gang to head off for themselves…leaving Michael to wonder just what was happening 8:00 on Friday…

A/N – Sorry if this chapter is a little weird, I was watching some old DVDs of mine and saw some Irish dancing. The music just inspired the chapter, although I did picture Tess playing the Violin with Faith, but I couldn't figure out what would wow the crowd enough for them to win. If anyone has the Feet of Flames CD, or wants to hear the songs that Tess and Faith play, they are on the Feet of Flames CD. The first one is Duelling Violins, the second is Strings Of Fire, and the last one is Dance Above The Rainbow.

I know the time lines and plots of the Buffy and Angel series might be a little out of whack, so just to clarify some things…Angel is the head of Wolfram and Hart, Cordy isn't dead, Connor is a baby, Fred isn't dead she's with Weasley who never tried to steal Connor. I know it's pretty messed up but that's the only way I could make my story work.

So…

What's happening at 8 on Friday? What other surprises lurk within our favorite blonde? And an even better question, to hint as to what may happen in the next chapter, is everyone in Roswell the same religion?


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

Friday rolled around faster than either Max or Michael had expected as they soon found themselves wandering around Tess' street with Liz and Maria clinging to their arms…neither was too happy about that but it made for a good cover story of just going out for a walk. Michael repeatedly kept looking at his watch, counting down the minutes till it would be 8. They had just reached the Valenti's about a quarter to when they saw Kyle and Jim walking out, dressed neatly.

As they got closer it was clear that there was something attached to their heads. "What kind of hat is that?" Michael asked as Max mentally smacked himself…so much for a smooth meeting.

Kyle sighed in annoyance as he unlocked their car as Jim turned to the couples before them, a calm smile on his face. "It's called a Yamaka, Michael," the sheriff said.

"Well, how's it supposed to keep your head warm?" he asked, he had never heard of a Yamaka before, "It doesn't even fit on your head."

Jim gave a small laugh as Maria rolled her eyes. "It represents the Jewish faith Michael." She snapped, "The men wear it."

"I didn't know you were Jewish sheriff." Liz said. She had lived in this town her whole life; she would have thought that she'd have known what religion the local sheriff was.

"Oh we're not," Jim said laughing at their confused faces.

"Tess is," replied a voice from behind them. The group turned to see Faith walking over to them, wearing her black dress from before with…Isabel?

"Isabel?" Michael asked.

"Michael?" she shot back, "What are you doing here?" But judging by their guilty looks, she could guess the answer for herself. "Let me guess, you over heard something and instead of just asking Tess like I said in the first place, you decided to try to figure it out for yourselves?" She shook her head at their shocked expressions. '_Idiots…_' she thought.

"Well…what are you doing here?" Michael countered.

"I was invited." She informed them, "Tess called me yesterday and asked if I wanted to come to a small ceremony at the Temple tonight. The chorus is giving a performance."

"Yeah man, you guys should hear Tess sing, she's amazing." Faith said ignoring the disbelieving scoff that Maria let out.

"Why don't you four come along, I'm sure we can fit you in here somewhere…" Jim trailed moving some things to the back of the car, making room for the four extra passengers.

Max and Michael exchanged glances before heading into the car, to be honest they were truly interested in what kind of performance the chorus was giving…even more interested in seeing for themselves just how amazing Tess could sing…

The temple was full of people; apparently word of the chorus' performance had spread through out the district. However the fabled chorus was nowhere to be seen. It was already past 8 and Max and Michael were starting to wonder whether or not they would actually perform at all. Maria and Liz's attention had already shifted from the crowd before them to some other thing since they were talking adamantly between themselves…that was until the lights dimmed.

A whispering, "Thus saith the lord," could be heard from the back of the room. The crowd turned to look back in that direction as a few dim lights started to make their way to the center isle. A line of people wearing masks with the bottoms open for their mouths and colored robes were making their way down the isle holding candles. They were walking slowly, almost like a wedding march as they whispered the beginnings of a song.

"Thus saith the Lord, since you refuse to free my people…All through the land of Egypt...I send a pestilence and plague, into your house, into your bed, into your streams, into your streets, into your drink, into your bread. Upon your cattle, on your sheep, upon your oxen in your field, into your dreams, into your sleep. Until you break, until you yield. I send the swarm, I send the horde. Thus saith the Lord…" The group suddenly stopped as two spotlights focused on two men standing at two podiums at opposing sides of the front of the room. One wore a white robe, one a black.

The white robbed figure sang first, "Once I called you brother, once I thought the chance to make you laugh was all I ever wanted..."

The masked people were marching again, "I send the thunder from the sky I send the fire raining down…" Max could clearly see a hint of curly blonde hair in a ponytail behind one of the first masks as they got closer to where he was sitting near the front, he was certain that that one was Tess.

"And even now I wish that God had chose another," The white one sang again, "Serving as your foe on his behalf, is the last thing that I wanted..."

"I send a hail of burning ice, on every field, on every town," the chorus sang.

"This was my home…All this pain and devastation, How it tortures me inside," The white one resumed, "All the innocent who suffer from your stubbornness and pride..."

"I send the locusts on a wind Such as the world has never seen. On every leaf, on every stalk, until there's nothing left of green!" The chorus said marching once again, "I send my scourge, I send my sword, Thus saith the Lord!"

"You who I called brother, why must you call down another blow?" the white one asked.

"I send my scourge, I send my sword!"

"Let my people go!" he shouted. "Thus saith the Lord!"

"Thus saith the Lord!" The chorus sang. There was one distinct high note that made the song sound even more menacing. Faith had started to clap loudly with the crowd, muttering something to Isabel about it being Tess.

"You who I called brother, how could you have come to hate me so? Is this what you wanted?" the black one sang as Max looked up at the chorus. They were still marching despite not singing. He could see Tess standing in the front right in the middle, fighting a small smile off her face to remain serious.

"I send the swarm, I send the horde..." the chorus sang as the last among them stood in the four steps of the alter, making it look like make shift risers.

"Then let my heart be hardened," the black one spat, "And never mind how high the cost may grow, This will still be so: I will never let your people go..."

"Thus saith the Lord…" the chorus sang.

"Thus saith the Lord," the white one answered.

"I will not..." the black one started, soon singing with his counterpart and the chorus, "Let your (my) people go!"

The high note was back again, and Max was watching this time, he could see that Tess was in deed the one holding the note up.

The song ended, as the chorus removed their masks and bowed to the audience applauding them. They filed off stage next to the alter where a section was made for them to sing.

The rabbi had been speaking of the hardships that their people had gone through, leaving Egypt and spreading their religion. He spoke of the dangers that awaited them, of the hope that seemed to prevail above all fear…

It was then that he backed away from his alter, as soft music started to fill the room. Max noticed as the chorus stood, a black haired girl whispered something to Tess, who looked extremely nervous. Tess smiled gratefully before stepping up starting to sing.

"Many nights we've prayed, with no proof anyone could hear. In our hearts a hope for a song we barely understood. Now we are not afraid, although we know there's much to fear. We were moving mountains long before we knew we could…" Max was entranced by her heavenly voice. It started off soft, timid even, but as the song went on gaining passion and strength, as did her voice.

"There can be miracles," she sang, looking out at the crowd gathered to celebrate an important day, "When you believe. Though hope is frail, it's hard to kill. Who knows what miracles you can achieve, when you believe somehow you will…you will when you…believe…" she had lost her breath at the last word as her eyes locked on Max's. She was once again nervous…she didn't know he'd be here, listening to her sing.

"In this time of fear," the black haired girl sang, stepping up next to Tess, thankfully drawing her gaze away from the alien king, "When prayer so often proves in vain, hope seems like the summer birds, too swiftly flown away. Yet now I'm standing here…"

She took Tess' hand in hers as Tess echoed her song, "Now I'm standing here…"

"With heart so full, I can't explain." The girl sang, soon joined by Tess, "Seeking faith and speaking words I never thought I'd say." Tess smiled gently at her friend's apologetic smile as her voice cracked a little from a high note.

"There can be miracles," They sang. "When you believe," the girl continued to be echoed by Tess' "When you believe…"

"Though hope is frail, It's hard to kill," the girl sang, once again echoed by Tess, "It's hard to kill…"

"Who knows what miracles," they sang, "You can achieve," the girl continued, "You can achieve…" Tess echoed.

"When you believe," They sang, "Somehow you will…you will when you believe..."

The girl sang the last word as she pushed Tess forward more with an encouraging smile.

Tess began to sing a beautiful tune in Hebrew, Max couldn't understand a word of it, but it was just amazing to listen to. "A-shi-ra la-do-nai ki ga-oh ga-ah. A-shi-ra la-do-nai ki ga-oh ga-ah. Mi-cha-mo-cha ba-elim adonai. Mi-ka-mo-cha ne-dar- ba-ko-desh. Na-chi-tah vi -chas-di-cha am zu ga-al-ta. Na-chi-tah vi-chas-di-cha am zu ga-al-ta. A-shi-ra, a-shi-ra, a-shi-ra..."

Soon she was joined in by the rest of the chorus behind her in a repetition of the last chorus, each measure gaining speed and volume. "A-shi-ra la-do-nai ki ga-oh ga-ah. A-shi-ra la-do-nai ki ga-oh ga-ah. Mi-cha-mo-cha ba-elim adonai. Mi-ka-mo-cha ne-dar- ba-ko-desh. Na-chi-tah vi-chas-di-cha am zu ga-al-ta. Na-chi-tah vi-chas-di-cha am zu ga-al-ta. A-shi-ra, a-shi-ra, a-shi-ra!"

"There can be miracles!" they sang, "When you believe! Though hope is frail, it's hard to kill!"

"It's hard to kill," Tess repeated, singing above the noise of the chorus, but still as beautiful and on pitch as ever.

"Who knows what miracles," They sang, "You can achieve!"

"You can achieve…" Tess sang.

"When you believe, somehow you will…" they sang, "Now you will…You will when you believe!"

Max could distinctly hear a few men in the back of the group add on another, "When you believe!"

Then the singing stopped, not a sound came from the chorus, "You will when you believe…" Tess finished softly.

The crowd roared with applause, many people were standing shouting praises to the chorus. Tess blushed and stepped back to her ranks as the Chorus made their way out of the room. The ceremony was over.

But the party had just begun. According to Kyle the Temple was celebrating Hanukah with a large bon fire outside along with dancing and refreshments.

The groups soon made their way out along with the crowd, Max in particular trying to find Tess. He spotted a flash of gold near the fire, which was already roaring with life. She was talking to Buffy, Spike, Cordy, and that Angel guy. Max shuddered slightly, every time Angel looked at Max, he felt as if he was trying to size him up. It tends to make a man a tad uncomfortable.

He could see that they were congratulating her on her performance as Faith pushed by dragging Isabel with her. He dared not get any closer though for fear of imminent death. It seemed that her group of eccentric friends were not too fond of him for some reason or another. A tugging at his arm drew him away from the sight of Tess as Liz dragged him over to the refreshment tables where Michael and Maria were in yet another argument. Apparently Michael had commended Tess' voice, and Maria was furious as to why he never did that for her voice…It would be a long night…

And so it was, Max had spent at least two hours trying to track down Tess once again all the while trying to loose Liz with out her knowing…it wasn't working. Tess was nowhere to be found and Liz was attached to his side. He was starting to loose hope, the bon fire was only supposed to last two hours, and he still had yet to find her…That was, until the Rabbi made one last announcement for the evening.

He had gathered them all around the fire speaking of traditional dances done in the old days. Some of the crowd groaned, they didn't want to learn a new dance…but the Rabbi just laughed. "No, no, no," he called, "You will not be the ones dancing…"

The crowd looked at one another trying to figure out what he meant when the sound of bells came from the side. A woman was standing there shaking what looked like a piece of wood with beads wrapped around it. The shaking noise went on for a moment or two before being joined by the drums of two men and one woman who were sitting at three small old drums hitting a very specific beat. Then a flute sounded, playing an upbeat melody, fitting in nicely with the overall music around. One of the men from before, the one who had worn black in the beginning of the evening, started to sing, "A single thread in a tapestry, though its color brightly shines, can never see its purpose in the pattern of the grand design..."

As he sang the female members of the chorus stepped up around the bon fire. It was all Max could do to keep his mouth shut and not drool. The female members were wearing something reminiscent of a Genie. They had on tops that stopped a little above their bottom ribs, some with sheer materials to make up sleeves, some with no sleeves at all, and pants that looked like bathing suit bottoms with sheer leggings.

But the one girl that had Max so entranced was Tess. She was wearing a dark blue top, almost exactly like the I dream of Jeanie top with light blue sleeves, and a light blue sheer skirt that went down to her feet with a few thick dark blue strips and a dark blue belt. Her hair was in a high ponytail with a few curls outlining her face, allowing her eyes to be seen, the exact color of her skirt. She started dancing along with the rest of the girls, a smile on her face.

"And the stone that sits up on the very top of the mountain's mighty face, doesn't think it's more important than the stones that forms the base." The girls started turning in circles slowly, moving their arms up and down, stepping around the bon fire, just moving with the music. "So how can you see what your life is worth or where your value lies? Ohhhh, you can never see through the eyes of man…" The girls had stopped moving around the fire, Tess stopped right before Max, their eyes locked, and neither one could move.

Tess stood there, staring at Max back to the fire, unable to move, to continue her dance. She could faintly hear the singing in the background, "you must look at your life…" she knew what was coming, "Look at your life through heaven's eyes…"

She managed to snap herself out of her trance just in time to lock arms with the girls next to her and do their dance around the fire, singing their lai-la-lais all the while. As their small chorus number ended, the girls dropped their arms and turned bowing slightly before continuing as the singer went on.

"A lake of gold in the desert sand is less than a cool fresh spring, but to one lost sheep, a shepherd boy is greater than the richest king. Should a man who'll lose everything he owns,  
has he truly lost his worth? Or is it the beginning of a new and brighter birth? So how do you measure the worth of a man, in wealth or strength or size? In how much he gained or how much he gave? The answer will come. The answer will come to him who tries to look at his life through heaven's eyes! And that's why we share all we have with you, though there's little to be found. When all you've got is nothing there's lots to go around. Oh life can escape being blown about by the winds of change and chance…" As he said this, the girls spun off into the crowd, weaving in and out, around the many people of the crowd.

"And though you never know all the steps, you must learn to join the dance…" Max could see the girls returning to the fire each with a member of the crowd. And before Max knew what was happening, he felt himself being pulled up by Tess. "You must learn to join the dance!"

The chorus girls started their lai-la-lais slower this time, each holding out a scarf in their color to the person they brought up. Max took one end as he and Tess started to walk to the right in a circle. As the music picked up they turned to the left…pretty soon Max found himself spinning in a circle with Tess, laughing and not once breaking eye contact with the sprite before him. The music suddenly slowed and Max found himself right palm pressed to Tess' palm walking to the left, and then turning with his left palm walking to the right just as all the other dancers were doing.

"So how do you judge what a man is worth? By what he builds or buys? You can never see with your eyes on earth; Look through heaven's eyes! Look at your life! Look at your life, look at your life through heaven's eyes!"

As soon as the song had finished, the crowd cheered and praised the dancers. Tess stepped back from Max, eyes still locked with his. They were both breathing heavily staring at each other, waiting for the other to make the move that they were longing for. Taking a deep breath, Max stepped forward seeing a flash of a memory before him, of Ava waiting for Zan to do the same…

He took another step forward ready to close the gap between them when he was pulled back by something behind him. Liz had pulled his arm…pulled him away from the vision before him. He looked at her, breaking the contact he had with Tess, as she started speaking quickly about how great he looked.

Tess looked down to the ground beside her sighing. She had thought that Max was about to kiss her… "Hey Tess," she heard Faith say as she stepped up to her friend. Faith had noticed the pull that Max and Tess just shared, the moment that could have happened. Tess smiled sadly, "You wanna head back home?" Faith asked, knowing that Tess wouldn't want to stay long and watch the Max/Liz action about to happen. Tess nodded, to tired and downhearted to disagree…

Max had completely spaced on what Liz was saying, the only thought in his mind was of Tess and what just happened. He looked back up to where Tess had been to see her walking away in the distance with Faith. He looked down at Liz and for the first time ever, wished that he hadn't saved her…

A/N – So…I was trying to think of what religion to make Tess. I thought maybe Kyle rubbed off on her and she's Buddhist, or maybe Wiccan like Willow…but that was kind of Willow's thing, and Willow was my favorite character. One of my good friends was reading my story and she offered me some really good advice when I was stuck, she was Jewish so I decided that Tess being Jewish might be interesting…not to mention I loved the Prince of Egypt movie and the songs were amazing. I kept picturing Tess singing There can be Miracles and seeing Max in the crowd…I have absolutely no idea if the actual ceremony/temple meeting was like a real life one, my friend isn't really a practicing Jew so…I made up most of it based on memories of Catholic Mass.

Next chappy – Tess is depressed as she and Faith perform for a charity drive, Max and Angel have a little discussion, and Max makes a choice…

The Hebrew Lyrics in English are, "I will sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously. I will sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously. Who is like You, oh Lord, among the celestial. Who is like You, majestic in holiness. In Your love, You lead the people You redeemed. In Your love, You lead the people You redeemed. I will sing, I will sing, I will sing."


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

Tess sat on one of the many plush chairs in the back room of the Gasior Banquet Hall, just a few minutes outside of Roswell. Her and Faith had agreed to do a New Year's charity for the Children's Hospital. One of the administrators had seen them perform during the Talent competition and asked them to help out. They agreed of course, but as of the moment, Tess wasn't feeling that up to it.

She sighed, she was stupid. She should have never chosen Max for the dance at the temple last week. She knew it was pointless, she knew he loved Liz…she knew it all. She wasn't sure now if she had done it to try to apologize to him or to get one last close moment with him before she gave up entirely. She loved Max; she would always love him and only him. She died for him, and made herself better for him, she tried to understand him. She loved him sooo much…

And that's why she had to give him up. She wanted him to be happy, even if it wasn't with her. If Liz made him happy…then she'd back off…

She knew it would hurt, and she knew it would be hard…but she had to do it. She'd try to get over him at least for she could never fall out of love with him…

But that dance…it had been the best…she felt as if she had really connected with Max. But she was wrong… She thought he had been about to kiss her, and she was wrong…

She was wrong about so much…

So there she sat, on the red plush chair, depressed waiting for Faith to come back from meeting the gang. They'd have to leave soon…and Tess would be all alone…again…

"Hey," a voice said, cutting in on her thoughts, stopping them from roaming farther down the self-pitying road they were already on.

Tess looked up and smiled sadly, "Hey…"

Faith took a seat next to her friend, handing her a glass of OJ, sweetened, just how Tess liked it. They sat in silence for a while, not an uncomfortable one, just a silence where one person doesn't want to talk.

This went on for a while, the charity started, and the various acts went up. "So…" Faith started, glancing at Tess to see if she objected to the start of a conversation. Upon not seeing anything, Faith continued, "I…uh…changed the song." She said bluntly.

Tess turned to look at her, wondering what on earth she was talking about. Faith rolled her eyes, "I know, back in Sunnydale that you listened to Evanescence…so I checked them out…" Tess raised an eyebrow, Faith was not one to listen to bands like Evanescence, Tess practically had to beg her to listen to even one of their songs. "Yeah, yeah," Faith muttered, "It's not like me, I know. But I just wanted to cheer you up. You're no fun when you're all mopey like this." Tess smiled, "Besides, B's off with Spike half the time, and I need a sparing partner who isn't going to stare out into space all depressed." She laughed, drawing out a laugh from Tess, the first one since the Temple.

"So, which song?" Tess asked.

"Well…since you already know all of them on the piano, I decided to learn the violin part for My Immortal."

Tess stared at her in shock. Faith really didn't like playing the violin, and to have her _want_ to learn a song was something hard to fathom.

"You learned it for me?" Tess asked quietly.

"Well, yeah," Faith said, shrugging. "You're one of my best friends, I had to do something to cheer you up." Tess smiled, and pulled the slayer into a sisterly hug; "Just think of this as a way to get your feelings off your chest without having to talk to Max."

Tess' smile grew, the song was just that…the epitome of her feelings for Max…

The Pod Squad and the I-know-an-alien club sat in the performance room of the Gasior Banquet Hall, waiting for Tess and Faith to take the stage, eager to know what they would be doing. Jim and Kyle were sitting on the end of the row, next to Isabel whom they invited, who sat next to Michael who was sitting as far away from Maria as possible since they had started fighting more as of late. Max was next to Michael, and next to him was a very disappointed Liz. She was sitting next to Maria whom, at the moment, did nothing but complain about all of Michael's faults while the other volunteers performed. Liz wished that Maria would just shut up just long enough for her to turn to Max…then she'd get the hint and start complaining to Alex who sat on the other side of her.

Just then the curtains closed on the stage and the MC came out announcing that Tess and Faith were about to take the stage. That was enough to silence Maria enough for Liz to turn to Max. She frowned a little; his attention was focused on the curtains, which still had yet to open. Gently she reached over to rest her hand upon his…when he pulled away. She looked down at the bare armrest, where her hand now lay before looking up at him once again. He was still looking at the curtains as if he hadn't realized he even pulled his hand away. The only difference was…now the curtains were open.

Tess sat on stage, just behind the ornate black grand piano, courtesy of the Banquet Hall. Faith stood beside the piano, near the other end resting her Violin on top of the piano. Tess took a deep breath before beginning to play a soft melody. After a few bars she began to sing, "I'm so tired of being here. Suppressed by all my childish fears, and if you have to leave…I wish that you would just leave 'cause your presence still lingers here…" At this point she raised her right hand and briefly placed it over her heart, continuing the melody for a moment with one hand before returning it to the keys, "And it won't leave me alone."

Faith picked up her Violin, gracefully resting it against her and beginning to play as Tess continued. "These wounds won't seem to heal, this pain is just too real, there's just too much that time cannot erase. When you cried I'd wipe away all of your tears…"

As soon as the words left her mouth, Max was assaulted with flashes. He saw when he sat crying in the park after one of his numerous faults with Liz, looking up as Tess walked silently up to him and sat down beside him.

"When you'd scream I'd fight away all of your fears…" He saw the four of them chained to poles as the Skins came at them, Tess conjuring up a fireball to decimate them all.

"And I held your hand through all of these years…" Tess held his hand as he realized just what his destiny held in store, the day Liz walked away from him.

"But you still have…" Faith let the Violin fall gently to the side, as Tess played unaccompanied, "All of me…"

Tess looked out at the crowd as she continued to play, her blue eyes appeared a much richer shade of blue as they glistened with unshed tears.

"You used to captivate me by your resonating light. Now I'm bound by the life you left behind…" Tess looked up from the keys; a heartbroken look marred her face as Max was once again reminded that Tess remembered the life they had all forgotten. "Your face it haunts my once pleasant dreams. Your voice it chased away all the sanity in me. These wounds won't seem to heal, this pain is just too real, there's just too much that time cannot erase…" Faith had picked up the Violin, playing again as she sang along with Tess on the last few words, creating an eerie yet beautiful sound.

"When you cried I'd wipe away all of your tears…" Max was once again assaulted by visions, but of a life long gone. He saw an older version of Tess…Ava running towards him as he, Zan, received word that his uncle had perished during a battle with Kivar.

"When you'd scream I'd fight away all of your fears…" He saw Ava standing up to Kivar just before they died, taking a hit meant for his mother.

"And I held your hand through all of these years…" He saw crowds before him, looking over to see Ava holding his hand at…at their wedding.

"But you still have…all of me…" Max's eyes unglazed as the lingering traces of the vision faded to reveal Tess, looking into space, a single tear trailing down her face.

"I've tried so hard to tell myself that you're gone. But though you're still with me…I've been alone all along!" She sang, flashes of all the times he had pushed her away running through his mind.

"When you cried I'd wipe away all of your tears," Now, for the first time, as he gazed upon Tess, pouring her heart out to him, seeing her crying freely with tears pouring down her cheeks…Max wanted to, he _wanted_ to, wipe away her tears as she had done so often for him.

"When you'd scream I'd fight away all of your fears," Max felt guilty, for all the times he hadn't be there when Tess was scared, like she always was for him. That he hadn't even gotten to know her well enough to even know what scared her.

"And I held your hand through all of these years," Max felt disgusted with himself; for all that he had left her to alone. Not noticing when Rath and Lonnie had taken her in NY…not trying to protect her when the skins killed Nasaedo…not waiting for her when they hatched…

"But you still have…all of me…" Tess sang the last part in a whisper…as if it were a secret she didn't want to tell, but had to. "All of me… All of me… All of me…"

Faith put the Violin down as soon as Tess stopped playing, rushing over to her friend as she truly broke down crying on the bench of the Piano. She gathered Tess in her arms, hugging her and rocking her as she cried. The crowd cheered for such an emotional song. The curtains started to close…but just before they passed Tess, she looked out at the audience…right at Max…

And for the first time…Max found himself wanting to be the one that was holding Tess as she hurt…

I

I

I

There were refreshments being served in the Ball Room that had been converted for the night. Max and the group walked in with the rest of the audience, in awe of the sheer size of the room. All the participators were already scattered about the room, congratulating each other over their performances.

Max walked quickly away from the group, mind set on only one thing…finding Tess. He didn't know whether it was to praise her, comfort her, or apologize to her. He'd have to figure that out when he actually found her…which he did much easier than it had been at the Temple.

She had been near the large refreshment table, surrounded by her Sunnydale friends. Max took a step towards the group when that Angel guy looked up…right at him…Max stepped back closer to the table deciding that it was much safer.

He bowed his head, looking at all of the pastries and other treats that lined the white cloth that adorned the table.

"So…" said a voice from his side, he looked up to see Angel standing next to him looking at the treats as well. "You're Zan, huh?"

"Uh…ah…no." Max said finally, unsure of why it took him so long to answer that time, he had always been so quick to remind Tess that he wasn't Zan. "Not anymore at least."

"Oh…" Angel said, picking up a small pastry and examining it. "So you think that just because you were different in your old life…it's not you anymore?"

"I…I mean, I'm not Zan." Max said, slightly confused by Angel's question.

Angel placed the pastry on a small plate before picking up another one, "I mean, about 50 or so odd years ago, you were Zan, King of Antar, right?" He glanced over at Max as the boy-king nodded, "And you died…so now you're Max Evans?" He asked again, as Max nodded, "And just because you can't remember your past, you think that just because you're a different person now than you were then…that just because you've lived a different life that you are in no way, shape, or form Zan?"

"Yeah…" Max trailed.

"Let me tell you something Max…" Angel said, placing the pastry down and turning to face Max. "I was born in 1727. I was Liam, son of an Irish merchant. I died; I became a vampire, a soulless being with a taste for blood. I admit I claimed many lives, not caring; I was Angelus, one of the most feared Vampires ever. Then I was cursed, or gifted depending how you want to see it, with a soul. I felt regret, anger, disgust at what I had done. I could have forgotten easily, could have moved on and left everything behind…like you…" He finally took his gaze away from Max, to resume looking at the treats, "But I chose to remember, I owed it to all the people I'd hurt, all the people I knew."

He grabbed a few more treats, turning to lean on the table, watching Cordelia trying to apply some make-up to Tess' semi-tear streaked face. "The point I'm trying to make is that I've lived different lives as well. I've died many more times than you. I was different then than how I am now. But that's no excuse to hide from my fears and my problems…you got me?" he asked looking over at Max.

He smiled slightly; the boy's gaze was fixed firmly on Tess. He realized the look on the boy's face, it was the same look he had when he looked at Cordelia before they got together…longing. Wanting to be with someone, but having everything holding you back. He could see that the boy was in love…he just didn't realize it. He didn't know that his feelings were being directed at the wrong girl. He had been in enough situations to know that abnormal people can never be with normal people. He looked at the history of all his friends. Vampire with slayer, Vampire with a soul with a seerer, Witch with a werewolf then another witch…the only exception to that rule seemed to be Xander and Anya…although Anya was human now so it didn't really count.

Angel started walking away to leave Max to think about everything that he had said. "Oh…" he said, turning around to face Max while still walking towards his girl. "You hurt her…I kill you…" He had said it with such a joking smile that Max wasn't entirely sure if he was joking or serious.

He watched as Angel wrapped an arm around Cordy while holding the plate of treats out before her. The group had started laughing slightly at the gesture, Max smiled, looking them over. They were all so different…yet Tess fit in perfectly with them all…

His gaze lingered on Tess as he looked over the group. She looked up suddenly eyes locking with Max's. He looked away, suddenly very nervous. He picked up a plate, putting a few pastries on them when the gentle pressure of a hand rested on his arm. He turned, expecting it to be Liz, only to find himself staring into the blue eyes of Tess.

"Hey," she said, voice still a little hoarse from crying, "Are you ok?"

Max's stomach knotted at that, here he was, the boy who always turned her away and pushed her away, and she still cared about him.

"Uh…" he stumbled over his words, for the first time unable to talk around her. "Yeah, I'm fine…you ok?"

She shrugged, "I'll live." She said.

"You…uh…you sounded good up there…" he muttered, eyes once again locked on her baby blues.

"Thanks…" she trailed, gaze locked on his. She looked as if she was about to say something more, but then reality set in and she looked away. "Look, uh Max…" she took a deep breath. "I get that you don't like me, I mean, I know you'll never feel the same way about me as you do with Liz…I get it. Destiny is just a thing of the past right? Anyway," she said, not letting him answer. "Do you…do you think we could at least be friends?"

"Uh…I…" he was at a loss of words. The jumble of emotions he felt at that moment was overwhelming. He wanted to tell her that he could never feel for her what he felt for Liz…he wasn't even sure what he felt for Liz anymore. He wasn't sure what he felt for Tess either. He wanted to be friends…finally…but he wanted to be more than friends. The thought of _just_ being friends just didn't sit right with him. "Friends?" he heard himself ask, before mentally smacking himself…he hadn't wanted to say that out loud.

The small smile that had been on Tess' face, fell to a heart broken frown. She knew that Max loved Liz, he had made that obvious more than he needed to. She knew that she had really messed things up by talking about Destiny. But she thought that at least there was a chance of being friends with him…but now she saw that that wouldn't happen.

"I see…" she said, barely above a whisper. "I understand…" She turned and walked away heading back to her group of friends, leaving Max unable to come up with the word to tell her what he truly meant.

"Max?" a voice behind him questioned. Barely motivated, he turned to see Liz staring up at him with her doe brown eyes, "What happened?"

Max just shook his head. He looked up at the group, seeing Tess turn to look at him sadly. She tried to smile, but just couldn't seem able to make it real, before lowering her gaze and turning back to the group. He knew what happened, he had screwed up…royally…

A/N – Yay! Almost done, I think I have about two more chapters left. Next Chappy – Who will Max choose? Will the Sunnydale gang realize that Max just hurt Tess more than before? More important, has Tess reached the end of her rope, if there isn't any chance with Max what's to keep her in Roswell?


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter Ten

Max walked through the deserted halls of Roswell High; it was lunch so the majority of students would be sitting in one of the two cafeterias. He stopped at his locker, pulling out the books he'd need for his next three classes. He was about to shut the locker when one of the few pictures that hung inside it caught his attention. It was a picture of him, sitting next to Tess at the Crashdown with Isabel and Michael sitting across from them. They were all smiling…though now he admitted it was mostly forced. It had been taken a few weeks after Tess arrived. He looked closely at the photo, he could see the strained way Isabel was smiling, Michael was smirking though not up to his usual standard. Max himself was smiling sadly; Liz had taken the photo so he smiled for her.

But now that he really looked at the picture, he could see something that he hadn't noticed in Tess' smile. Every time he glanced at it he'd thought that Tess was smiling. She was, but it wasn't the happy smile he had only seen a few times on her face, the one that seemed to reach her ears. As he looked now, he could see that it was a sad smile, like she was trying to hide something that was bothering her, but a thing that she didn't want people to worry about.

He realized now that even after a few days Tess could tell that no one had wanted her there. There she sat, surrounded by the people whom she was supposed to be with…separated from the people she _wanted_ to be with…

He sighed, shaking his head, he'd been so stupid to keep pushing her away. He hadn't even tried to get to know her. Because of him, she'd been pushed out and treated like an alien.

He slammed his locker shut in disgust, turning to go head down the hall back to the Cafeteria where Liz awaited him. But he stopped short at the seen a few lockers down from the corner of the hall.

Tess was going through her locker…violently. She was pulling books out and slamming them back in, ruffling through papers before throwing them on the ground. Kyle was there as well; grabbing at the papers that Tess was throwing away. Max was too far away to hear just what they were talking about, but it was pretty obvious that they were arguing about something. Kyle was throwing his arms in the air, waving them around, shaking his head at her. He threw the papers down, pointing at himself…he must have said something that got to Tess. Even from his distance away he could see her shoulders straiten and tense. She grabbed the edge of her locker, knuckles turning white.

She slammed the locker shut, spinning around to face Kyle. She waved her hands around as if asking a question. She pointed to herself, face turning a shade of red formally unknown to mankind, then pointed down the hallway to where Max stood hiding on the other side of the corner. When Max looked back around, Tess was hiding her face in her hands, it was obvious to anyone that she was crying now just by the way her shoulders were shaking. Kyle shook his head, walking over to Tess and pulling her into a brotherly hug. After a few moments, Kyle let go of one arm, wrapping the other around her shoulder and leading her down the hall, saying something that made her laugh.

Max waited until the hall had been empty for a few moments before stepping out from around the corner, and looking down the hall to where a few papers and a partially closed locker remained. He walked over to the papers, picking up the few of them after shutting Tess' locker. There were some basic notes from classes and some printed out Instant Messages. One paper that caught his eye was a small photo hidden behind the papers. It was a picture of a younger Tess and Faith sitting in front of a cake. Max turned it over reading the back, 'Tess' birthday party'; he looked down at the date…it was today!

Max looked around the hall quickly, checking to see if anyone was watching as he put the picture in his backpack. He walked down the hall and right out the door…

Max sighed as he sat on a park bench, watching as the light faded around him. He had cut school and looked all day for the perfect gift for Tess. He had really screwed up with her, and he needed to do something to prove that he wanted to be with her…Max's thoughts paused, "That I want to be with her?" he asked himself, "No…no, I just…just want to apologize and hopefully be friends with her…No I don't want to be friends, I want something more…but what is more than friends?" He thought for a moment, before realizing his first thought was correct…he wanted to be with Tess…

But he needed something to prove that to her, to prove that he was truly sorry for anything and everything he had done to hurt her. But what?

He looked up, watching as the stars slowly started to show upon the darkening sky…and then it hit him…the perfect gift…

A knock upon the door was drew Willow's attention away from her book, she looked up waiting a few moments to see if the person at the door would knock again. No one did and so she went back to her book, she had gotten a few sentences through when the knocking was back louder and faster than ever. "Coming, coming…" Willow called as she set her book down and made her way over to the door. "I'm coming!" She shouted unlocking the door, "Hold your horses…" she opened the door to reveal Max Evans standing there breathing heavily as if he had run there. "What do you want?" she asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

"I need…I need your help…" He said, taking deep breathes in between.

"What makes you think I'd help you?" Willow asked, she didn't want to do anything for the boy before her, not after what he had done to Tess.

"It's for Tess…" he said.

"Tess?" Willow said, her attention grasped, "What? What's wrong? Did something happen to Tess?"

"No…no, I just… you can do magic right?" Willow nodded, "Can you do anything about my memories of Zan?"

Willow shook her head, "Oh no…no, no, no, I am not helping you get rid of them…not a chance in he…"

"No!" Max interrupted, startling her, "I…I want to remember…"

It was a decision he had come to just recently. He knew he wanted to remember, but he just didn't know how. As he thought about Tess' birthday, it just seemed right. She always wanted him to remember, what better gift could he get.

Willow looked at him skeptically, "Are you sure?" she asked. She remembered when she had helped Tess remember…that was one of the worst experiences she had ever had with magic. Nasaedo had told Tess about all the great things about Antar, about Zan…he never told her about her life before being Queen of Antar or how they died…So she had done the spell and Tess' memories returned, with the good came the bad.

It had been too much for Tess at first; she'd had nightmares for months after that. Her life before being Queen was not a fairy tale in any way. She'd been of a low class family, and bandits killed her parents as they made a journey for a better life. Tess was orphaned with her older brother, but he died of the sickness only two years after that. Tess was found wandering around on her own and sold to the Slave Traders. When she was around the Earth age of 19, King Mirtith, Zan's father disbanded the trade. He took all the Slaves in Tess' quarter to come heal at the Palace. Tess always was a spitfire, in any life; it got her in a lot of trouble because she refused to submit to the personal whims of her masters. She'd been beaten many times as a result, as had many of the Slaves in her quarter. King Mirtith had them moved, and personally helped in the healing process along with his son Zan. That was how Zan and Ava met…

Willow shuddered at the memories of waking up to Tess' screams of terror…it was horrible.

"I'm sure." Max answered firmly.

"As you wish…" Willow said, motioning for Max to take a seat next to her so she could begin…

The rock wall of the Pod chamber opened with a whir alerting the only other person inside that she was no longer alone.

Tess glanced over her shoulder to see Max bathed in the gentle light of the Pod chamber. She turned to look back at the pods, hers in particular. She had been there for a while, thinking about her decision, standing before her pod as if it held the answer.

She waited a few moments; Max hadn't said anything, neither had she. For once, it was a comfortable silence that fell between the two of them.

Tess sighed, "You know Max, all my life, I've wanted to be normal, like you. I never got that chance, all the people I grew up with weren't normal, neither was I; I guess that's why we fit together so well. Nasaedo told me when I was younger that I wasn't noble born on Antar. He told me that not many people believed I should have been the one that Zan chose for a wife, that they believed I wasn't good enough." She laughed, "I thought, that's probably how you felt now. So I worked and worked to get better, I pushed myself to be good enough for you."

She glanced at him before looking back at the pod, as Max stepped closer. "I trained with Buffy and Faith to build up my strength, my endurance, my fighting skills. I worked with Willow to focus my energy, I worked with Xander to learn basic skills I'd need in the world. I studied, I trained, I learned. I did everything I could think of to better myself. I learned to fight, to cook, to sew, to dance, to sing, to draw, to act, to skate. I learned gymnastics, piano, violin, flute, guitar, harp, ballet, tap. I learned how to speak Italian, German, Spanish, Gaelic, Chinese, Japanese, Russian, French, and even Arabic…for you. I worked with my powers so I could teach you and protect you…but everything I did just wasn't good enough was it?"

She laughed slightly, but Max could hear the tears in it as he stepped behind her. "It's ironic isn't it? The one thing that I couldn't learn, the only thing I couldn't be, was the one thing you wanted me to be…human."

"I don't want a human Tess." Max said.

Tess turned, walking away from him, "Then what do you want?" she whispered from the edge of the chamber

"You…" Max said, as Tess stepped out into the chilled Roswell air.

"Too late…" He heard her mutter as she paused by the exit. "You know Max, when I was just coming out of my Pod I was happy, because I knew you'd be there…only you weren't. None of you were. And I remember asking myself, why? Why'd you leave me alone? Was I not good enough?' Now I know, I'll never be…" She shut the door behind her. He shook his head; he didn't even get a chance to tell Tess that he remembered her, that he remembered everything…

A/N – I know, it's a really bad ending…and probably a messed up chapter. The next one will be the last one with a shock and a mission for Max.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven

Max walked quickly over to the Valenti's after school the next day, Tess hadn't shown up to class that day, and he was worried that something had happened. He had figured out a way to let Tess know that he remembered. He had written a small note in Antarian to pass to her, one to explain himself to her…but she hadn't been there.

He knocked on the door impatiently, till Kyle opened it up. Max sighed; Kyle hadn't been in school either, so he must know where Tess was. "You!" Kyle shouted once he saw that it was Max. "What are you doing here?"

"I…I just wanted to see if Tess was here…" Max said, unsure of why Kyle was glaring at him.

"Like you'd care." He spat. "It's your fault!"

"My fault? What'd I do?" Max asked.

"You're the reason why Tess left!" Kyle shouted, shaking in anger. It was Max's fault that Tess felt so unwelcome and alienated that she wanted to go back with her friends. She'd had a breakdown in school the other day as she tried to find the Destiny book to take with her. She couldn't find it at the house so she thought that she'd left it at her locker. She wanted to leave and take anything that had to do with destiny with her. He had tried to get her to calm down, to reconsider leaving. Telling her that he wanted her to stay. She had started crying, saying that even if she had stayed for him, she could never be happy because of them…the other. He couldn't stand to see her like that so he led her out offering to help her pack his favorite jersey for the trip.

Max stood there dumbfounded, "She left?" he asked, Kyle nodded, "Why?"

"That should be obvious Max." Kyle said, "It was you and Michael, and Isabel, Liz, Maria, Alex…it was everyone that gave her shit. You all ran her out! Are you happy now?" he asked, fed up with how everyone had treated Tess.

"Where'd she go?" Max asked, knowing he sounded stupid.

"She was going back to Sunnydale with Faith when Angel offered to let her stay with him and Cordy in LA for a few weeks to help out with the wedding. Not that you care or anything, but they actually care about her." Kyle shook his head in disgust before slamming the door in Max's face.

Max stood there, shocked…she left?

I

I

I

It hadn't taken Max long to realize that he had to get Tess back or at least apologize to her for the way that he'd treated her.

He had looked on line till he'd found the company that Angel worked for Wolfram and Hart, and then piled Isabel and Michael in the car to come with him. The ride to LA was long and tense, no one really talked but Max didn't mind, it gave him time to think of what to say to Tess when he found her.

He pulled up to a large skyscraper in the heart of LA, reading the sign 'Wolfram and Hart' to make sure that it was the right place. As soon as he was positive, he parked the Jeep and practically jumped out of it, heading for the front doors followed by Isabel and Michael.

Everything would have gone smoothly had it not been for the guards at the front entrance. They had stopped them to ask for an appointment, but they didn't have one. The guards had refused to let them through till they could contact Angel, who was in a conference. They'd sat there for about two hours when Cordelia walked through the front doors and saw them. She had taken them up to Angel's office where he sat there on the phone with Faith.

"Hey…got to call you guys back. The problem just walked in." Angel said, before putting down the phone. Cordy shut the door behind her, as the three teens took a seat before her fiancé.

"What are you doing here?" Angel asked Max, the dark tone he spoke in startling the boy.

"I want to see Tess, and I know she came to LA with you." Max said, in a regal tone.

Angel seemed to notice the difference in tones from the boy he met to the boy who sat before him. He could tell that the boy now remembered his past…but just to make sure…

"I told you that if you hurt Tess, I'd kill you." He said in Antarian which he had learned form Tess.

"My life is not important as long as I get to see her." Max replied back in Antarian, shocking Isabel and Michael. "I just want to apologize." He said in English.

Angel set his jaw, thinking over these new developments…he couldn't kill Max, he'd promised Tess that much.

"Follow me." He ordered, getting up and walking out of the room, followed by the teens and Cordy.

He walked down some flights of stairs and through some halls till he reached a hall with only one door. He walked through it and down some more stairs till he reached a walkway just above a small room.

He stopped to watch the room's occupants, as Max stopped beside him. Tess stood in the middle of the room with a staff in hand, surrounded by three men with staffs. They were practicing their combat techniques. Tess was winning in the mock fight. She had managed to take out two of the three men. The second man managed to disarm her, but Tess round housed him, effectively knocking him out. The third man ran behind her, using his staff as a way to lock her arms at her sides. Tess leaned back, before quickly flipping the man over her shoulder, grabbing his staff and using it to flip him off to the side, disarming him as well.

"Well, done boys," Angel called, drawing attention to himself. "Take a break."

Tess tensed as she saw Max following Angel down into the room. She looked up to see Isabel and Michael standing with Cordy.

"Good job Tess," Angel said, taking her staff and walking away to put it in the weapons rack.

He glanced over at the two teens, who's gazes remained locked, before walking up the stairs again, leading the others out of the room.

"Hey, Tess…" Max started.

"Max," she replied, walking away to get a drink.

"You're really good." Max tried again. Tess shrugged, as Max sighed, "Look Tess, before…when you asked to be friends, I couldn't say yes…"

"I told you Max I get it."

"No you don't," Max interrupted, "I couldn't say yes, because I don't want to be just friends…" Tess stared at him, something achen to hope shining in her eyes, "I want…I want to be with you Tess…"

Tess shook her head, "No you don't." she said, "You want Liz, you're just feeling guilty…"

"You're right," Max said, "I do feel guilty, guilty that I didn't take a chance to get to know you, that I didn't listen to you, that I didn't try to remember you…"

Tess smiled slightly squeezing his hand, she could hear the sincerity in his words. "It's alright Max, you don't have to remember Antar, it was another life right, we were different people…"

"But we're not." Max said suddenly, grabbing her other hand, "I…I just want…"

Tess looked down at their hands, fingers laced together of Max's on volition. She looked up at his face, which was scrunched as if he was trying to find the words…

"What do you want Max?" Tess asked, looking up at him, hopefully.

Max looked down at the woman before him and smiled, "_Me cupi je verna._" He said, leaning down and kissing a startled Tess.

Tess shut her eyes, smiling into the kiss. _Me cupi je verna…I want my wife_…

I

I

I

Liz paced through the slightly crowded Crashdown, nervously glancing out the window. Max had disappeared two days ago along with Michael and Isabel. No one knew where they went, and Liz was getting worried that maybe the FBI had found them.

Max had been acting odd lately, distant and closed off. He hadn't bothered to stop and talk to her or hold her hand or kiss her in weeks…something was wrong…

The doors jingled open as Liz looked up hopefully to see Kyle walking in with Tess. He sat her down in a booth before walking over to the two person tables and sitting down, which was odd for Liz, Kyle almost always sat with Tess.

A few minutes later, Liz looked up to see Max's jeep pull up on the other side of the street with Michael and Isabel. They got out and headed to the door. Liz practically ran to greet them. But she slowed her trek as Max walked right past her to slide in next to Tess, wrapping an arm around her shoulder and kissing her temple.

Breathing heavily, Liz fell into the seat behind her, right across from Kyle.

"Yeah, I know that feeling." He said, glancing over at Tess and Max.

"But…how…when…" Liz asked.

Kyle just shrugged, turning to look at a menu, as Liz sat there looking at the aliens.

A throat cleared just above her as she looked up to see Faith staring down at her, "You're in my seat." She said simply waiting for Liz to move.

As soon as Liz stood, Faith slid into the seat, smiling up at Kyle.

Tess glanced over at her friend seeing the looks exchanged between the two of them. She leaned on Max, whispering in his ear, "So how long do you give Kyle and Faith before they're all over each other?"

Max laughed, "Knowing Kyle, a few weeks…"

Tess gave him a look, laughing as well, "Knowing Faith, more like a few days."

The whole group laughed as Tess felt Max wrap an arm around her waits. She rested her head on his shoulder, looking at Michael and Isabel talking quietly across from her. They were still embarrasses about that morning.

Max had gotten Tess out of class for her first trip to the infamous Eraser Room, only to find that it was occupied…by Michael and Isabel.

Tess smiled; destiny had a funny way of working out…

The End!

A/N – I went away on vacation for a few days to Niagara Falls with my family. The six-hour drive up there was enough for me to finish up this story and another. There may be some grammatical/spelling errors…the roads are bumpy and I was tired.


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